Turkey, Azerbaijan play substantial role in regional issues, say top Azeri officials

Deniz Çiyan ISTANBUL

Azerbaijan’s Minister for Energy Natig Aliyev (L), Vice President Prof. Dr. Ali Hasanov (C) and Communication Minister Ali Abbasov pose for a photo.

Turkey and Azerbaijan play a significant role in bringing together and enhancing the relations between the region’s countries, Vice President of Azerbaijan Prof. Dr. Ali Hasanov said, with the 18th Eurasian Economic Summit contributing to this goal.

“This summit is an important factor that builds upon the ‘one nation, two states’ philosophy between the Turkish and Azeri nations. As a formation that brings together more than 30 countries, the Eurasian Economic Summit is important not only in bringing Turkey and Azerbaijan together but also in increasing the relations between countries in the region,” Hasanov told Hürriyet Daily News on April 7, during his visit to the 18th Eurasian Economic Summit organized by the Marmara Group Foundation.

Commenting on the economic and energy-related relations between the two countries, the Republic of Azerbaijan’s Minister for Energy Natig Aliyev said as Turkey and Azerbaijan are the leaders in the region, they both constitute an important place as the transition between Europe and Asia.

“There is a platform that analyzes and discusses the developments in the area, which is done by the Marmara Group Foundation,” said Aliyev, discussing the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s participation in the groundbreaking ceremony on March 17for the $10 billion Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Project (TANAP), a project to pipeline Azeri gas to Western markets.

Minister of Communication and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov said Turkey and Azerbaijan have begun playing an important role in the region not only in energy and transport issues but also in information technologies issues, with many the region’s surrounding countries paying attention to the same issue as well.

Stating that Eurasia is an essential region, Abbasov said the economic bulk in Eurasia has started to move from west to east, and a new market is now being opened in the region. “This region has begun to play an important role in solving global problems. In this direction, this summit will mean the enhancement of both countries’ power in the region.”